Combined cotton chopper and cultivator



gNo Model.)

- L. Z. GRIGSBY.

COMBINED COTTON CHOPPER AND OULTIVATOR.

No. 310,416. Patented Jan. 6, 1886.

i g e 1 u a a o" i L '0 x WITNESSES INVENTOR m Q6? @9752 g? BY mATTORNEYS.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LEMUEL ZAOHEUS GRIGSBY, OF MINDEN, LOUISIANA.

COMBINED COTTON CHOPPER AND CULTIVATOR.

'EZPECIPICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 310,416,6latedJanuary 6, 1885.

Application filed June 11, 1884. (No model.)

1'0 (tZl 1071/0/11, it may concern:

Be itknown that l', ilnnrour. ZA euiEUs G R] cser, of lllinden, in theparish of Webster and State of Louisiana, have invented certain new anduseful ln'lprovements in Combined Cotton (,lhoppers and Cultivators, ofwhich the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

ltefercnce is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part ofthis specification, in which similar letters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved ma chine. Fig. 2 is a sectionalside elevation of the same, taken through the line :0 m, Fig. 1. Fig. 3is an end elevation of the cylinder. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of adouble chopping-hoe.

The object of this invention is to facilitate the chopping andcultivating of cotton and other plants planted in drills or rows andrequiring to be brought to a stand.

The invention consists in a combined cotton chopper and cultivatorconstructed with a frame, a cylinder having a central annular groove,and provided with adj ustable knives upon its face and cam-concaves inits ends, operating levers connected at their rear ends by a cross-barpivoted to a crank carrying thechopping-hoe and its standard, wherebythe stalks, vines, roots, weeds, and grass at the sides of the plantswill be cut in pieces, the soil mellowed, and the plants chopped to astand by the passage of the machine along the row. To the rear cross-barof the machineframe are attached plow -beams provided wit-h plows, sothat the plants will be dirted after being chopped to a stand, as willbe hereinafter fully described.

A represents the frame of the machine, in bearings in the middle partsof the side bars of which revolve the journals of the cylinder B.

Around the center of thecylinder B is an annular groove, 0, ofsutticient width and depth to receive the plants and prevent them frombeing injured as the machine is drawn along the row of plants.

To the face of the cylinder B are attached laterally-inclined knives D,which, as the machine is drawn along the row, cut in pieces old stalks,roots, vines, grass, and weeds that may be along the sides of the row ofplants, and

mellow the soil along the said sides, so that the plants to be left fora stand will. not be knocked out of the ground by the action of thechopping-hoe, hereinafter described. The knives I) can be made withflanges along their backs, provided with slots to receive the fastening-serews, so that the said knives can be adjusted to cause theirinner ends to work at any desired closeness to the plants; or the knivescan be constructed and secured to the cylinder in any suitable manner.

In each end of the cylinder 3 are formed four (more or less) concaves,E, to serve as cams for operating the chopping-hoe. The cam-eoncaves ofthe two ends of the cylinder alternate with each other, so that thebottom of a concave at one end will be opposite the adjacent ends of twoconcaves at the other end, as shown in Fig. 1.

Against the eoncaved ends of the cylinder B rest small wheels F, pivotedto the ends of levers G, which are pivoted to supports H, att-ached tothe side bars of the frame A. The rear ends of the levers (l are pivotedto the opposite ends of a cross-bar, I, the center of which is pivotedto a crank, J. The shaft of the crank Jis pivoted to bearings attachedto the center of the rear cross-bar of the frame A, and to its lower endis attached the standard K, which is curved rearward and downward, andto its lower end is attached the chopping-hoe L. Both the side edges ofthe hoe L project, so that the said hoe will operate when moving towardeither side of the machine. By this construction the levers G will beheld parallel with each other, and will be vibrated by the coneaves E asthe machine is drawn forward, vibrating the crossbar I, and operatingthe crank J to swing the hoe from side to side, the forward motion ofthe machine causing the said hoe to follow a zigzag path, passing fromone side of the row of plants to the other, and cutting out the plantsas it crosses the row, and thus chops the plants to a stand.

If desired, the standard K can be made double, or in the form of an archattached at its center to the lower end of the shaft of the crank J, andhaving a hoe, L, at each end, as shown in Fig. 4. In this case thedouble standard K should be made of such a length with IOO LII

reference to the circumference of the cylinder that at each movement ofthe crank J the rear hoe, L, will cross the row of plants at the pointwhere the forward hoe crossed at the preceding movement. I

To the rear cross-bar of the frame A, upon the opposite sides of andequally distant from the crank J, are rigidly attached the forward endsof two plow-beams, M, the rear parts of which are curved downward, andhave plows N attached to their ends to throw soil around the plants, sothat the row of plants will be chopped to a stand and dirted at onepassage of the machine along the said row.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. A combined cotton chopper and cultivator constructed substantially asherein shown and described, and consisting of the frame A, the groovedcylinder B, having knives D on its face and eam-concaves E in its ends,the wheels, levers, and crossbar F G- I, and the crank J, standard K,and hoe L, as set forth.

:2. The combination, with the frame A, oi;

the cylinder B, having central annular groove, 0, and the adjustableknives D, substantially as herein shown and described, whereby thestalks, roots, vines, weeds, and grass at the sides of the row will becut in pieces and the soil mellowed, as set forth.

3. The combination, with the frame A and the cylinderB, having centralannular groove, 0, and cam-concaves E in its ends, of the wheels F, thelevers G, the cross-bar I, and the crank J, carrying the standard K, andthe chopping-hoe L, substantially as herein shown and described, wherebythe said hoe will be operated by the advance of the machine, as setforth.

4. In a cotton-chopper, the frame A, the cylinder B, having the centralannular groove, 0, and the knives D, the chopping-hoe L, and theplow-beams M, carrying the plows N, in combination, substantially as andfor the purpose set forth.

LEMUEL ZACHEUS GRIGSBY.

\Vitnesses:

J. XV. BERRY, \V. J. BOON.

